FIESTA 4 DRIVE-IN

Location:8462 Whittier Blvd, Pico Rivera. Phone # (562) 948-3671.
Year built:Opened September 29, 1949
Operated by:Pacific Theatres
Vehicle Capacity:990


The Whittier drive-in theatre opened for the first time on September 29, 1949. At the time, the drive-in was located in the unincorporated community of Pico and the name "Whittier" was most likely applied because of its location along Whittier Blvd. In 1956, Pico, and the unincorporated community of Rivera directly to the south, merged and incorporated as Pico Rivera as we know it today. The Whittier was the latest drive-in of Pacific Theatre's expanding drive-in chain.
This announcement from the Whittier News shows what a "gala" event a drive-in opening used to be.

The newly built screen tower and marquee are seen below.

In the late 70s or early 80s, the single-screen Whittier was expanded to four screens, which unfortunately meant and redesign of the field and the descrutcion of the original screen tower and marquee. The drive-in was renamed to Fiesta 4 and took on a new look which lasted until the Fiesta 4 was closed.





On September 29, 1999, the Fiesta 4 celebrated 50 years of continuous operation. Not many of the 5000 ozoners that once stood ever reached the age of 50 so this was a great feat for this Southern California drive-in.

But the celebration would not last long. Less than a year later, it was announced that 2000 would be the last year of operation of the Fiesta 4. The drive-in officially closed on Sunday, July 30, 2000.

The seven pictures below were taken on the last night of operation of the Fiesta 4.








Early arrivals. The screen you
see in the distance was torn down 3 days after the Fiesta closed.
Sitting on the truck is my brother. Standing is his girlfriend. My
wife and two daughters are inside the Pathfinder on the right.
That's me on the left and my
brother on the right
A look inside the snack bar.
Sorry no flash.
Cars entering. The night was warm
which made it a busy night.
Behind us was the two story snack bar/projection
booth. It was tough to get a steady night shot without my tripod.
Coke trailer between movies.